A New Way of Moving
by TearThisCanvas
Summary: Finn seemed to think it was funny that Kurt used hairspray, but Kurt knew the boys on the council would understand him. Blaine would understand him. Hairspray AU.
1. Chapter 1

As he checked his wristwatch for the sixth time, he clicked his tongue impatiently to the beat of the song he was sure he was going to miss at home. To Kurt Hummel, every second spent at school was simply a second off the countdown to the Corny Collins show that afternoon, and that countdown was dangerously low right now. If he missed even a second of the show, missed a single note of a new song or another glimpse of Blaine Anderson's face he could never forgive himself (well, he could never forgive Finn, his brother, who was taking for _ever _to come out of school). He hopped off the fence he had been perched upon and looked down at his feet, deciding to practise the steps from the dance of the week, as though he didn't know them flawlessly already.

Tapping his feet on the pavement, he let his mind wander to his favourite daydream. _He _was dancing on the Corny Collins show, in a sharp powder blue suit and hair coiffed perfectly with Ultra-Clutch. Finn seemed to think it was funny that Kurt used hairspray, but Kurt knew the boys on the council would understand. He'd be at the front of the council, shooting a cheeky grin at the camera before stepping back and taking Blaine's arm so they could dance the finale together. Sometimes this daydream was almost painful to think about – because, in reality, even if Blaine knew of Kurt's existence, even if by some divine miracle he took any time to _interact _with Kurt, there was no way he'd be into him like _that. _Plus, it was pretty clear Quinn Fabray had already staked her claim with flirty glances on the show and death stares to any other girl who dared come within ten feet of him, and due to this Kurt had just decided to leave well enough alone.

But sometimes it was the sweetest daydream in the world, because it was an escape from what Kurt had deemed the most shockingly dull adolescence in the world. An escape that almost always ended in a kiss.

He still wondered what would happen, if two boys danced together on TV. Would people riot? Would they attack?

Would they start to see how normal homosexuals were?

His train of thought was interrupted by the medley of voices floating over from where Finn's class was finally, _finally, _being let out. He bent to pick up his satchel and then hurried over to meet Finn, who greeted him with a grin and a wave.

'Hey, Kurt!'

'Hello, Finn. May we leave?'

'Hang on –'

'Finn! I swear to God if you make me miss –'

'Hey! I'm just waiting for the new kid. He moved here a few days ago so I'm helping him out, showing him 'round.'

'How very gracious of you.'

'Sam!' Finn didn't get a chance to process Kurt's sarcasm before he spotted his new friend over his brother's shoulder. Kurt turned and ran his eyes over the new arrival.

'Hey, Finn,' the boy returned Finn's high-five with a smile, before turning to Kurt and nodding his head in greeting. 'Hey.'

'This is Kurt.'

'Hey, Kurt.'

'Hi.' Kurt couldn't summon any manners, so the smile he shot Sam didn't come across as anything but forced. 'We should go.'

'Right.' Finn nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets and following Kurt. 'Wait, dude, Sam wanted to see the park; I thought we could walk the long way –' Kurt turned to glare at him.

'_What_?'

'T-tomorrow. I meant – I meant we could do that _tomorrow.'_ Finn amended his plan. 'Because obviously we have to go home now.'

'Obviously.' Kurt turned back round and hurried off. Usually he didn't like exerting himself physically in front of his classmates – his growth spurt the previous year had gifted him with a stunning lack of co-ordination when it came to athletics – but his practised stride soon escalated into what could only be described as a power-walk, and soon Finn and Sam had to jog in order to keep up.

'So – is he, like, really into running, or what?' Sam puffed a little beside Finn.

'Nah, his show is on after school. Well, not _his _show, he isn't in it, but – well, he wants to be, but that's not really – um, yeah. He wants to watch TV.' Sam nodded as Finn dazedly tried to make sense of his own words.

Kurt burst through the front door about a minute ahead of the other two, and was already midway through a twist when they caught him up. He didn't acknowledge their arrival; his eyes were fixed on the screen a few feet in front of him, and his grin was set as his hips moved.

'What is this show?' Sam murmured to Finn, as they both watched Kurt mimic the onscreen dancers with impressive accuracy.

'Corny Collins. I don't really get it, but they have some cool music sometimes.' Finn shrugged. 'And Kurt likes it, so it can't be too bad. Hey, want some food?' The blond nodded absently, taking a few steps into the living room. Finn shrugged, moving into the kitchen. Sam unconsciously started copying Kurt as best he could, and a little timidly.

'What is this dance?' He asked, eyeing Kurt's feet.

'It's the Stricken Chicken!' came the reply, a little breathily. 'It's almost done.' Sam jumped out of the way as Kurt made a sudden move to the left and twirled, before taking a majestic bow. He turned to Sam, cheeks a little pink. 'Have you ever seen the show before?'

'Nuh-uh.' Sam shook his head. 'Never heard of the stricken chicken; never heard of Corny Collins.' Kurt looked at him with a pitying smile.

'We simply must fix that.' He leaned forward and turned the volume up. 'This is the council.' He gestured towards the kids moving onscreen that, in Sam's opinion, looked far too happy to be sober. 'They're a bunch of kids who were picked to dance on TV and bring all the new routines to the little people.' He cocked his head to the side, the pitying smile descending into longing.

'Lemme guess, you want in?' Sam nudged him. Kurt blushed.

'I wouldn't say _no...' _He shook his head. 'It would never ever happen.'

'Why not?'

'Look at those kids. The boys. They're all... _manly. _Grown-up. I'm not... normal enough to be on there.'

'What does being normal have to do with it?'

'Shh – they're doing a role call; you need to listen!' Kurt bit his lip in anticipation, mouthing the names along with the council.

_Rachel, Quinn, Noah, Brittany, Jesse, Mike, Matt, Thad, Sheila, Rory, Sugar!_

_And I'm... Blaine._

Kurt tried to disguise the blush that crept over his cheeks when Blaine Anderson appeared onscreen, but there was no hiding from the butterflies in his stomach. Blaine Anderson... If Kurt was home alone right now, he would definitely be kneeling in front of the TV set and screaming, but since even _he _thought that was pathetic, he didn't want to consider what Sam might have thought of it. It was just that... God, Blaine was so _cool, _and he was so confident and _sexy _and he just had this _thing _about him that oh, just thinking about him made Kurt want to crawl under his bed and cry. They went to the same school, but no words had been passed between them, simply several longing glances from Kurt and one curt nod from Blaine as he edged past him in the hall (Wednesday 9th May, it had happened, and if Kurt ever forgot about it he could refresh himself using the four-page diary entry he wrote about it) but Kurt had a feeling – he just _knew _that their voices would sound amazing together. In song, or in speech. Or in loud moans echoing off his ceiling.

He flushed again, praying to whatever deity that was listening that Sam wasn't a mindreader. He tried to regulate his breaths.

Sam couldn't help but notice Kurt squirm next to him as the tan guy with the eyebrows introduced himself. He discreetly turned his attention to the fairer boy and become aware of his slightly forced breathing. Was he okay? And his fingertips were digging into his knees, like he had to restrain himself from making any sudden movements. His eyes were still trained on the screen, wide as saucers. The last kid, Blaine, he was still up and he was singing something. And Kurt seemed awfully... lost in it. His tongue poked out and moistened his lips, which remained slightly parted so he could breathe in more. Sam suddenly had a hunch. And he had to keep his mouth shut – he had to keep his mouth –

'Kurt?' It took the boy a few seconds to drag his eyes away from the screen.

'Mmm?'

'When you said you weren't _normal..._' Sam bowed his head a little and looked up at Kurt searchingly. Kurt looked uncomfortable.

'I...' He shrugged. 'I guess I... I just –' He sighed. He had never realised that there was an issue with his sexual orientation until Finn caught him staring one time, before they were brothers. Thankfully he was cool with it – well, _cooler _than he could have been - but it had led to an awkward conversation with his father who also, _thankfully, _was fine, however it was after that conversation that Kurt had learned about how there might be some people who _weren't_ cool with it, and didn't like what he was; who he found himself attracted to. It was because of this that he had tried to keep his longings under wraps, and it startled him that Sam had picked up on it.

'It's cool.' Kurt looked alarmed.

'What?'

'It's cool. Just...' Sam made a vague hand gesture. 'Whatever.' He smiled at Kurt.

'Oh.' Kurt smiled back, nodding. 'Um, thanks. I guess.' Sam nodded his head once before turning his attention back to the TV.

'So... Blaine, huh?' he elbowed Kurt gently, his voice light and teasing.


	2. Chapter 2

'Take five, kids.' Judy Fabray waved her hands at the out-of-breath council members who, at her go-ahead, moved out of their final positions from their last dance and started to walk around the stage, stretching out joints, seeking refreshment. Blaine opted to jog after Judy as she walked away.

'Ms. Fabray, can I ask you something?' She turns to him, face stony for a second before it breaks into a smile.

'Of course, Blaine, honey!' She put a hand on his shoulder and steered him over to a shady corner. 'What is it, darling?'

'It's about this song I've been given for the show tomorrow... I'm singing about a woman.'

'Yes?' She looked intrigued, but slightly impatient.

'I'm gay, ma'am. With all respect I was hoping I could change the pronouns in the song. Just a little, so they're right for me.' He looked at her searchingly and her gaze hardened. 'I – I think I'm ready for more people to know.' She remained silent, so he chanced continuing his speech. 'I know you're going to say no, but – check this out, I figure, since kids out there seem to dig me and since I'm the head of the council, I could be like a positive ambassador for gay kids, y'know? Someone people like me people can look up to; and someone who proves to people who _aren't_ like me that I'm just the same as them, excepting the fact that I like boys.' Judy stared him down for a few long moments before forcing her face into a somewhat pleasant grin.

'You really are just a puppy, aren't you?' she squeezed his arm, tight. 'Listen. Why do you think you're on this show?'

'My voice?'

'Sweetie. Millions of people have got a voice. But you can't put a voice on a poster, or a t-shirt, or a thousand lunchboxes. You think you'd be half as popular if all the girls watching our show, fawning over your gorgeous little face, didn't think that they had a shot with you?'

'Are you saying I have to pretend to be straight? I have to lie?' Blaine looked betrayed, hurt.

'Not lie, Blaine, just –'

'I came out to you when I first came on the show because you were like a mother to me when I didn't have one. I never thought that after all this time you would be encouraging me to be dishonest!'

'Listen here.' Her eyes narrowed, and this time she didn't try to disguise her annoyance. 'You think this business is all about being honest? You think I won Miss Baltimore Crabs by telling the truth to everyone? Newsflash – I didn't! I don't care if you sing an untrue song, I don't care if you have to shout it from the rooftops, I don't _care _if you have to sleep with every single woman in this state – as far as our demographic is concerned, you are _straight _. Are we clear?' Blaine gulped. Her face was hovering inches above his.

'Yes ma'am.'

'Good. Now, Quinnie is standing on her own, don't you think you should go over and talk to her 'til the break is over?' Blaine looked over at where the blonde girl was staring into a mirror, and then back at her mother. He sighed.

'Yes, ma'am.'

Xxx

'That Quinn is, uh... something,' Sam mentioned as the commercials started. 'You know. For a girl.' Kurt glanced over at him, watching the blush spread over his cheeks.

'Apparently she's kind of a bitch. And _apparently _she's sunk her claws into Blaine. But yeah, she's pretty.'

'Yeah. She's in my History class, y'know. She sits two rows in front of me, three seats to the left. We've never really spoken, but, uh...' He shrugged. Kurt tried to force himself to encourage Sam to make a move on Quinn, to talk to her, but how could he, when he was the prime example of _not _having the balls to talk to the person he liked? Okay, the situations were slightly different in that Sam probably wouldn't get beaten up for proclaiming his love for Quinn but still, Kurt didn't want to be fake. He never formulated a response to Sam's statement, and the silence continued into the last part of the show.

'Say, viewers, we've got an announcement for you!' Corny smiled at the camera, leaning on his podium. 'Our boy Noah here decided that being one of the _nicest _kids in town wasn't quite his style, so while he's off painting the juvenile detention centre red, we're gonna need some new feet to fill his dancing shoes!'

'Wanna be one of the nicest kids in town?' The shot zeroed in on Blaine's face – oh, Blaine's face, so handsome, _so _perfect that it still made Kurt's tummy fizz even after daily exposure – as he spoke directly to the audience. 'Skip school tomorrow, and come on down to the studio to try out!'

'That's right, kids, you never know until you try so don't miss this shot!' Corny finished. 'That's all for today so I'm gonna hand you over to Brittany and Mike so they can dance us out!'

Sam looked away from the TV and at Kurt, who was chewing his lip. He could almost see the cogs in his brain working as he stared at the screen. Sam spoke up.

'Dude, you _have _to.'

'What? I don't. I don't know. I...' Kurt looked away from the screen. 'I can't. I would never – ' He sighed.

'Says who?'

'Me. Everyone. I don't know. I don't need to draw attention to myself. I'm fine, _not _being famous.'

'You'd get to dance with Blaine every day.' Sam nudged him.

'I do that now.'

'In the same room as him.' Kurt flushed.

'I... should I?'

'It's up to you, man, but you never know, y'know?'

'I know.' Kurt bit his lip. 'Would you come with me?'

'I'll even help you plan your outfit.' Kurt's eyes glinted.

'Oh, you don't know me at _all.'_


End file.
